


Blue Fire

by Irisinally



Series: Brothers after death [1]
Category: Fate/Grand Order, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: Gen, let them be brothers, their relationship isn't the best but they're trying okay?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-31
Updated: 2018-03-31
Packaged: 2019-04-16 09:38:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14161977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Irisinally/pseuds/Irisinally
Summary: When Arjuna was summoned at Chaldea, he didn’t expect to be on the same side as his half-brother Karna. It was hard for them to get along, if he was honest, but… they were trying.





	Blue Fire

**Author's Note:**

> So, I recommend reading Arjuna's 2nd interlude (if u wanna suffer for this boy) and his valentine gift. Let them be brothers please!

The pull was familiar, it called to him, like his mother trying to get him to wake up and start the day, his brothers were already up,  _ Arjuna, Sahadeva wants you to train with him today. _

But he could remember something, something that had happened before, something he was not proud of, ah, yes, he’d encountered Karna again, hadn’t he? This time as Servants, but it wasn’t a normal Holy Grail war, it was unusual, it was dark, but he had known that Karna was there and he had enrolled on the other side. 

And they had fought, and ah, it had felt so good because, finally, finally he could have the fair fight with Karna he so desired. Karna, his oldest brother, who he had killed when he turned his back to him that day. 

This time it hadn’t been him who had killed him from behind. It had been that Cu Chulainn, his so-called teammate, the king, and he could only watch as Karna disappeared in a waterfall of gold, gold as the sun, as the gold armor that protected him. He’d been so angry, so furious, a snarl on his face, the opposite of how he was supposed to be, hands shaking while holding his bow, Gandiva.

The light engulfed him, warm, and the memories returned to him. Was this supposed to happen? Could he really remember the new mistake he’d made? 

His feet touched the ground and he took a deep breath before letting it out slowly, closing his dark eyes. Shoulders back, head held high, back straight, a stance he was used to have while dealing with important people and which had been ingrained in him by his mother and older brothers. 

“Servant, Archer.” Voice calm and collected, like a prince should talk. “My name is Arjuna. Master, please utilize me to my fullest.”

The light cleared and he blinked, disoriented for a moment, because everything was white. Then he finally got to see clearly and he almost gasped when he recognized the girl that was in front of him, hands full of tiny quartz. She was grinning at him, eyes shining and he was tempted to fidget on the spot. 

“Arjuna, I’m so happy you’re here!” she said, and Arjuna smiled slightly, nostalgia creeping up to him. He remembered the other girl, pale pink hair and determined eyes, who was behind the Master. “We didn’t have time to know each other in America, but my name’s Gudako!”

“My name is Mash Kyrielight,” greeted the other girl, and Arjuna frowned for a moment at her clothes and the lack of shield, before brushing it off.

“Good!” cheered the Master, twirling on her heels. “With this, we have 3 Indian Servants!”

“3 Indian Servnts?” repeated Arjuna, feeling kind of stupid, but he could guess what was coming. The Master’s smile became somewhat forced, and Mash averted her gaze. 

“Ah, yeah, here in Chaldea… we have Rama, you and… Karna,” she said, voice small at the end. Arjuna sighed. “Of course, I don’t expect you to become best friends! But…” Gudako sighed, “please try to get along.”

“Of course, Master,” he said, but his fingers tightened on Gandiva.

* * *

 

Karna had known that something was… Not wrong, per se, but there was a reason why his Master was acting so weird. She kept looking around when she was with him, on the lookout for… Something? Someone? He didn't know, but he was sure that his Master was avoiding it (whatever it was), because one time she'd jumped while she was talking with him and she had nearly dragged him to another place, laughing nervously. 

He debated with himself if he should ask her, he was kind of worried, after all, but he also worried about crossing a line. Was it even his business? Was he imposing? It didn't really look like danger, because his Master didn't look exactly afraid, more like… Worried? Nervous? 

In any case, he had more free time than he imagined he could have in this second life, so he supposed it wouldn't hurt to ask around and see if anyone knew something. Maybe he could ask Mash, that girl was really close to Master. 

He hadn't been on Chaldea for a long time, but he did know where to go to find some people, so he walked through the silent hallways until he could see the door that led to Da Vinci’s workshop. 

Carefully, he knocked on the door and opened the door when he heard Da Vinci’s cheerful reply from inside. The room was as chaotic as always, full of cards, of Saint Quartz fragments and other pieces. It smelled of various fruits, of spices, and for a moment Karna was reminded of the markets on his homeland. 

Da Vinci was organizing some shelves and she turned to smile at him, but Karna's eyes found another person in the room and he paused at the door, back tense and hands itching to summon his lance. 

“Arjuna,” he greeted, caught off guard, and his half-brother turned slightly to gaze at him with unreadable eyes. He caught some surprise, maybe, but then he had turned around again. 

“Karna,” he said, quiet, and maybe with anger? Not really. 

“Did you need something, Karna?” asked Da Vinci, handing something silver to Arjuna, and Karna moved his eyes slowly to her. 

“I was looking for Mash…” he said, “but I guess I don't have to anymore. Sorry for interrupting.” He nodded at Da Vinci, and Arjuna seemed to gaze at him again, before looking back at the silver pieces and turning his back to him. “Have a nice day.”

And with that, he turned around, hand around the doorknob, Da Vinci threw out a cheerful “you too”, and he closed the door again. 

Now his Master's nervousness made perfect sense.

* * *

 

Ambushes were not a problem for him, even if they tended to be annoying. He much preferred one on one fights, were the victor won fairly. Still, a fight was a fight, and his Master needed him, so he would do his best. 

Werewolves were awful, though. They were sneaky, even if they were more on the big side, and agile, and they were hard to deal with his lance, so he tended to rely on his Mana Burst Flames. His flames usually kept the ones with swords away long enough for him to deal with the lancer ones. 

This was a big ambush, he thought, so they needed to be careful. Maybe he should have been more careful, but with Arjuna on the same team, he felt out of place. It wasn't that they couldn't fight alongside each other it was just… Weird. 

They hadn't talked with each other, at all, even if they had seen the other on the hallways or at some rooms. They usually kept to themselves. Karna knew that he himself was bad with communication and he tended to step on people's toes (he was working on it), but he still had some… Would he call them friends? It worked for him. But Arjuna was even more closed off, it seemed. 

He blinked, then frowned, and he was ready to twist and block the blow from the werewolf that had somehow sneaked up on him while he dealt with five others in front of him, even if he knew that he was late to do so. It was unusual of him, but he'd been thinking too much in the middle of the battle. 

Then he saw blue lighting, heard a crack in the air, a howl from the werewolf and he turned just in time to pierce through the beast’s abdomen with his spear. It howled again and he kicked it off his spear, twisting again, and his surroundings exploded in the sun's flames, burning away his enemies. 

He took a deep breath, turning slightly to the side, just enough to see the silver and blue light that was Arjuna, pointing Gandiva at him… No, not at him, the bow was tilted, and when the flames died out to form a warm ring around Karna, he saw Arjuna lowering his bow, slowly, carefully, almost hesitant, and the Archer nodded. Karna nodded back.

* * *

 

Arjuna had been staring at the arrow for nearly an hour now. It wasn't even the first time this had happened, he'd stared at that arrow a lot of times before, he had memorized every single detail, and yet… this time it was different. 

He had raised Gandiva, had knocked the arrow in its place, he'd taken a deep breath while he tensed his arms, got in position, eyes locked on Karna and the beasts. And then his vision wavered and he could see Karna, without his armor, turned around, pale hair reflecting the sun, and Gandiva shook in his hands.

He’d had to close his eyes, had to take a deep breath and let it out slowly and shakily. Then he had opened his eyes and, had he been a second late, maybe he would have had to see Karna being killed in front of him again. And so, the arrow that flew from Gandiva cracked in furious lightning that pulverized the rocks in its path and reduced the beast's legs to dark sand.

Still, that moment had made him remember something he loathed, that moment that changed his life, that made him live in denial…

...Maybe one day, he’d be able to trust his Master enough to bring it up.

* * *

 

Turns out he  _ did _ tell Master about it. And he even managed to give  _ that _ arrow to her as a gift. As a gift of all things. But he didn’t regret it, not when Gudako’s smile brightened the entire hallway they were in. Master already knew about his sins, about his shame, about the dark part inside him, thanks to that dream, nightmare, and she still accepted him, something he was still struggling to understand, but it felt… nice.

Still, after that he hadn’t… really talked with Karna. Even if Karna had helped him then, talking with him was still… hard. They had been enemies, and Arjuna still wanted to fight him, he wanted to have a fair fight with him, no curses, no interruptions. He wanted to have a fair battle, like the rivals they were. 

To be honest, the days after that nightmare had been hard on him. He didn’t really leave his room, staying inside, thinking, hands around some of his arrows. He didn’t have  _ that _ arrow anymore, but he found that having something to fidget with in his hand helped his anxious mind to think clearly. Maybe it was the familiar blue of his arrows that calmed him, the arrows that had been with him for a long part of his first and second and third and following lifes. 

It was no wonder that at the next mission he had, he was a little out of it. Maybe he had tilted Gandiva unconsciously, maybe his back wasn’t as straight as before, maybe his hair was out of place, but it was okay, because Master was by his side and she didn’t complain. She just kept leading them. 

And this time, when Arjuna shot an arrow to help Karna, he didn’t see the weak Karna from back then, he was grounded in the present, fighting to save the world, fighting together with him. 

It was when he was back at his room at Chaldea, that he realized that his outfit had something missing. One of his chains had been broken and now hung much shorter than the other. Arjuna clicked his tongue with displeasure. Had he been walking around like that? How embarrassing. 

He was in the middle of putting everything away and putting on his traditional Indian clothing, trying to remember when that could have happened and getting mad at himself because he couldn't remember, when someone knocked on his door. He frowned. He did get along with a few Servants, but he was too private to get too close, everyone knew that, so who would knock on his door? Master? Did she want to ask him something? Maybe plan the next mission? 

He opened the door, an apology for not opening sooner almost escaping his mouth, but he closed it quickly when he saw no one at the door. He frowned, confused, but then he looked down and his eyebrows shot out in surprise. 

His broken chain was lying on the ground, neatly coiled and as shiny and clean as ever. 

And next to it, maybe some centimeters to the side, was a furiously pink feather.

* * *

 

“When will you just talk with Karna?” Arjuna frowned and raised his head from where he’d been looking curiously at the coffee in front of him. Ah, pink hair and blue clothes… Tamamo? 

“Excuse me?” he said, and maybe his voice sounded just a bit offended, but he wasn’t used to people talking to him so nonchalantly. Tamamo huffed, golden eyes impatient. 

“I know that your relationship isn’t exactly… ideal,” she said, and Arjuna could only blink at her. She put her hands on her hips, like a mother scolding a child, and Arjuna found himself thinking of his own mother. “But you need to talk to him. I’m pretty sure that something’s happened, so your relationship isn’t as pained as before. So. Just. Talk. To him.”

“This is none of your business,” said Arjuna, but it lacked its usual bite. He continued staring, more like glaring, at his coffee. Tamamo looked around at the half-empty cafeteria, then plopped herself down on one of the chairs next to the Archer. Arjuna jumped. “What are you doing?!”

“We need to talk,” said Tamamo, and her voice sounded childish, but her eyes were serious. Arjuna grimaced. 

“There’s nothing to talk about,” he said and he started standing up, but Tamamo was faster and she closed her thin fingers around his arm, pulling on it until he was sitting down again. Arjuna looked at the hand still on his arm and was reminded of a cat’s claw. 

“Oh, there really is something we need to talk about, Arjuna,” she said, voice a sickly sweet that made Arjuna grimace again. Her smile was icy when she turned to him, eyes too bright. “And, it is my business because Karna is my friend. So,” Tamamo crossed her legs and she leaned on the table, “why don’t you talk with Karna?”

“I haven’t had the time,” said Arjuna, but his voice was small, and he lowered his head again to stare at his coffee. It had lost color, so he started stirring it again. Tamamo archer an eyebrow.

“Oh, yes, sulking in your room must be so time-consuming,” she said, hands raised, and Arjuna paused, eyes opening wide. 

“Why you-?” he growled, eyes blazing, as he turned to her. Tamamo didn’t even blink.

“If you really want to fight him so much, why don’t you just ask him?” she asked him and Arjuna, caught off-guard, could only blink at her. 

“How did you know?” he asked, even as he wondered  _ why _ he was asking that of all things. Tamamo looked as if she was losing all the patience she had saved for that talk. 

“Because that’s what Karna wants,” she said and she sighed, closing her eyes with a tired sigh. Arjuna could only frown at her. “You know, you two are pretty alike in some things. Stupid, for one.” She sighed again. “Just ask him for a fight. A fair fight. He will understand.” And with that she stood up, blue clothes billowing around her, and she closed her fingers cautiously around his cup of coffee with a playful smirk. “I’ll take this as payment for my help.”

Arjuna just stared at the table where just a dark stain remained, as the Caster skipped away, humming and taking small sips of his coffee. 

* * *

 

Karna had, somehow, became Chaldea’s Servant’s psychologist. He didn’t complain, of course, he was pretty pleased with people trusting him enough that they told him their problems and listened to his advice. For once, people didn’t get angry at him when he told them the truth. Was he getting better at telling the truth in a softer way? He hoped so.

So, that day he’d been listening to Nero rant about her newest argument with Tamamo, taking sips of what his Master had said was called a Smoothie, when someone he couldn’t mistake for anyone but his half-brother walked towards them, back as straight and eyes as determined as always.

Even Nero had paused, eyes confused and curious as she looked from one of them to the other. Karna just waited, blue eyes attentive and locked on Arjuna. It would have looked like a stare-down for other Servants, but Karna could see all the emotions floating through Arjuna’s dark eyes and he was tempted to smile. He really had come a long way. He was quite proud.

“Karna,” started Arjuna, and the name seemed to taste weird on his tongue, said with a calm voice, with just a small hint of anger or resentment or hate. Karna inclined his head slightly, waiting for him to continue. Nero arched an eyebrow. “Would you like to spar with me?”

Karna let out a small huff of soft laughter and, maybe, his eyes brightened. He handed his glass to Nero, who took it and immediately shrugged and tipped it so that she could drink everything in one go. Karna stood up from the sofa and a small smile graced his lips.

“Gladly.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'll write some more for them, so if you have any more ideas for next scenes and situations, tell me!!


End file.
